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Rating: Jewish by origin, Mark Feld (09/30/1947; 09/16/1977), better known as Marc Bolan, is in love with Bill Haley, Eddie Cochran, Cliff Richards, and especially Elvis Presley's rock'n'roll; also fascinated by Tolkien's fantastic world when few were reading it: in short, a «different» person, not because he was gay, bisexual, or hippy as was fashionable in those days, but simply because he was ahead of his time.
Marc Bolan is the father of Glam, but he has only recently been acknowledged as such. His mythical rivalry with his true alter-ego David Bowie is legendary: two truly charismatic personalities, two absolute showmen. While the latter could boast a famous collaboration with Freddie Mercury and Queen in “Under Pressure”, the former collaborated with Elton John (certainly not today's) in “Children of the Revolution”, a track that represented an important chapter for fans and fellow musicians in England (the Libertines recently offered a sort of live tribute-reinterpretation of it). After founding Tyrannosarus Rex, the turning point comes with the arrival of Mike Finn (guitars): the synergy between the two is near perfection. Marc decides to shorten the name to T. Rex and releases the eponymous album (1970) which climbs high on the charts: the same goes for the single “Ride A White Swan”.
From a simple duo, T. Rex will become a band with a stable line-up thanks to the entry of Bill Legend (drums) and Steve Currie (bass), achieving consecration in their homeland with tracks like “Telegram Sam”, “Metal Guru”, “Get It On”, and “20th Century Boy”. Many recognize “Dandy in the Underworld” as their best album. The Anglo-Saxon punk, infinitely indebted to Bolan, was about to explode when the car driven by his wife Gloria crashed into an oak tree: a month after the death of his idol (Elvis), Mark Feld followed his trail. Many years will pass during which Bolan and the T. Rex will be copied without acknowledgment: the reissue of this album (the first under the name T. Rex, but the fifth in Bolan's career) is a testament of paternity, a certificate of belonging. It is obviously a remastered and expanded version with the addition of 9 tracks. Of all, “Jewel”, “Beltane Rock”, “Wizard”, and “One Inch Rock” are, in the writer's opinion, the most representative.
For the more curious, a useful aid is the included booklet. Adolescent charm and vanity, indeed, I would dare say childish; musical lightness, understood as authentic grace and elegance, seemingly rough but quite catchy; languid voice and lyrics that closely resemble real nursery rhymes: the glamour prince, the nihilist aesthete, the over-the-top star has returned in the third millennium and don't send him back to the shelves.
home.tele2.it/guzzardifilippo
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